Emergency Preparedness

The Division of Emergency Preparedness is responsible for making sure your community has a plan of action for emergency situations that could occur, sometimes with little or no warning, including natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or terrorist attacks.

As Ben Franklin once said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Making sure that your family is prepared for many different types of emergency situations will take a little time and effort, but it could save the lives of you and your family members. To make sure your family is ready for an emergency, check out our Tips for Making Sure Your Family is Prepared.

If you have any questions or comments about any of the material on the Emergency Preparedness site, or to report a link that doesn't work, please e-mail us or call our office at 304-348-1088.

There are many different ways that the public is notified of emergency events. You’ve probably heard many of these before, including radio and television announcements that beep several times and say “This is a test of the emergency broadcast system.”. These systems help ensure that people in Kanawha County and throughout the area will be notified in the event of a real emergency.

Your participation as a public health volunteer could make the difference in our county’s ability to respond. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s Emergency Response Team volunteers enhance the county’s emergency preparedness efforts by ensuring that a trained group of public health volunteers are ready to assist in response to a public health emergency. We are looking […]

The Kanawha-Putnam Household Preparedness Initiative (KPHPI) is a community driven effort to promote emergency preparedness amongst people living in Kanawha and Putnam counties through social groups, support groups, and accountability partners.

Being prepared for an emergency is as simple as having a kit and having a plan. You should have an emergency kit in your home that contains essentials that you will need in the event of an emergency. There are many different kits available for purchase online in a variety of sizes, or you can make your own very easily.